The Power of the Intellect

“The children of Israel again did evil in the sight of Jehovah …And Jehovah sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor” (Judges 4:1-2).

It is noteworthy that Hazor and its allies had been conquered by Joshua a hundred years before this time (Josh 11:10-15), and had been destroyed from off the face of the earth. Why, if it had been completely destroyed, do we hear of it again? If we regard Hazor as picturing some spiritual evil that has had a mastery over us, we obtain a valuable lesson. We all know what it is to have overthrown such a thing and then awake to find some day that old enemy, just as strong, and have to fight it all over again.

The king of Hazor’s name is significant—it means “understanding.” Understanding can be an enemy if we allow the power of the human intellect to take over in place of the power of the Word of God. The power of mere human understanding controlling in divine things is a dreadful and awful thing. “Jabin” thus pictures the kind of people who do not want the “light of the Lord” because they are satisfied with the illumination of their own understanding.

The intellect used away from God means infidelity, no matter under what name it masquerades.

S.R.